This report focuses on the key ratio of general government debt owed by 25 of the world’s richest countries versus each economy’s Gross Domestic Product.
General government debt is also called national debt or public debt. It measures a country’s gross debt comprised of all government borrowing that requires scheduled payment by the debtor to creditors minus repayments and calculated as a percentage of GDP. National debt is a critical indicator for the sustainability of a government to meet its financial obligations thus staying out of insolvency.
Government debt is significant in terms of inter-generational transfer of future obligations. Interest payments add to deferred public borrowing costs.
According to The Economist, national debt is frequently understated because governments carry liabilities, such as unfunded public-sector pensions, that do not show on their balance sheets.
Highlighted below are change in the percentage amounts for gross general government debt compared to each nation’s wealth over the short and medium term. Further down this analysis you will also find statistics measuring average government debt per household and per person as well as the median age for each economy.
Richest Countries’ Government Debt to GDP Ratios Compared
The table below showcases the ratios of general government debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 25 among the world’s wealthiest nations. Data shown is for 2019, 2018 and 2008 when the Great Recession began.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icons at the top of each column. Starting with the largest economy, the Rank column refers to the relative size of each country in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on a Purchasing Power Parity basis. You can also re-order the data by percentages for consumer spending, government spending and capital investment in descending or ascending order.
| Rank | Country | 2019 | 2018 | 2008 | 2018-9 | 2008-19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 55.6% | 50.6% | 27% | +4.9% | +28.6% |
| 2 | United States | 106.2% | 104.3% | 73.7% | +2% | +32.6% |
| 3 | India | 69% | 68.1% | 72.7% | +1% | -3.7% |
| 4 | Japan | 237.7% | 237.1% | 183.4% | +0.6% | +54.3% |
| 5 | Germany | 58.6% | 61.7% | 65.5% | -3.1% | -7% |
| 6 | Russia | 16.5% | 14.6% | 7.4% | +1.9% | +9% |
| 7 | Indonesia | 30.3% | 30.1% | 30.3% | +0.2% | +0.03% |
| 8 | Brazil | 91.6% | 87.9% | 62.4% | +3.7% | +29.2% |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 85.6% | 86.8% | 49.7% | -1.3% | +35.9% |
| 10 | France | 99.3% | 98.4% | 68.8% | +0.9% | +30.5% |
| 11 | Mexico | 53.8% | 53.6% | 42.5% | +0.2% | +11.4% |
| 12 | Italy | 133.2% | 132.2% | 102.4% | +1% | +30.7% |
| 13 | Turkey | 30.1% | 30.2% | 38.2% | -0.1% | -8% |
| 14 | South Korea | 40.1% | 37.9% | 26.9% | +2.2% | +13.2% |
| 15 | Spain | 96.4% | 97.1% | 39.4% | -0.7% | +57% |
| 16 | Canada | 87.5% | 89.9% | 68% | -2.5% | +19.5% |
| 17 | Saudi Arabia | 23.2% | 19% | 12.1% | +4.2% | +11.1% |
| 18 | Egypt | 84.9% | 92.7% | 66.8% | -7.8% | +18.1% |
| 19 | Thailand | 42.4% | 42.1% | 34.9% | +0.4% | +7.5% |
| 20 | Australia | 41.8% | 41.4% | 11.8% | +0.4% | +30% |
| 21 | Taiwan | 33.6% | 35.1% | 33.3% | -1.5% | +0.3% |
| 22 | Poland | 47.8% | 48.9% | 46.3% | -1.1% | +1.5% |
| 23 | Malaysia | 56.3% | 55.6% | 39.4% | +0.7% | +16.9% |
| 24 | Netherlands | 49.2% | 56.9% | 53.8% | -7.7% | -4.6% |
| 25 | Colombia | 51% | 52.2% | 32.4% | -1.1% | +18.6% |
The average debt versus GDP ratio for these 25 richest countries was 68.9% in 2019. This compares to 51.6% during 2008 when the Great Recession began.
Economies with the greatest government debt percentages in terms of GDP on a Purchasing Power Parity basis in 2019 were Japan (237.7% of GDP), Italy (133.2%), United States (106.2%), France (99.3%), Spain (96.4%), Brazil (91.6%), Canada (87.5%) and United Kingdom (85.6%).
Four of these wealthy economies reduced their government debt-to-GDP ratios since 2008 namely Turkey (down -8.1 percentage points), Germany (down -7 percentage points), Netherlands (down -4.6 percentage points) then India (down -3.7 percentage points).
On the other hand, richest countries that expanded their general government debt ratios the fastest since the Great Recession are Spain (up 57 percentage points), Japan (up 54.3 percentage points), United Kingdom (up 35.9 percentage points), United States(up 32.6 percentage points), Italy (up 30.8 percentage points), France (up 30.5 percentage points) then Australia (up 30 percentage points).
A nation with an ever-rising debt-to-GDP ratio is vulnerable for economic trouble, which can set off a chain reaction of aftershocks particularly with international trade partners and creditors.
Government Debt Metrics per Person and Household
Reflecting the largest economies in 2019, the greatest amount of government debt belongs to the United States at -US$22.773 trillion and China at -$15.175 trillion in red ink. Other debt-burdened big economies are Japan (-$13.661 trillion), India (-$7.820 trillion), Italy (-$3.253 trillion), Brazil (-$3.165 trillion), France (-$3.040 trillion), United Kingdom (-$2.679 trillion) then Germany (-$2.603 trillion).
Factoring in population metrics, Japan incurred the highest amount of government debt per average household (-$108,259). In second place were households in United States (-$69,162), Italy (-$53,887), France (-$46,896), Canada (-$44,380), Spain (-$40,100) and United Kingdom (-$40,063).
Focusing in on average amounts of government debt per person in 2019, the leaders for red ink per capita were Japan (-$45,108) and United States (-$27,665). Trailing the leading debtors were Italy (-$22,453), France (-$20,390), Canada (-$17,752), United Kingdom (-$17,419) then Spain (-$15,423).
See also Domestic Spending for Top 25 Richest Countries, Gross National Savings for Top 25 Richest Countries and Household Debt for Top 25 Richest Countries
Research Reference Materials:
International Monetary Fund, IMF DataMapper: General Government Debt (% of GDP). Accessed on January 30, 2020
International Monetary Fund, Gross Government Debt (% of GDP); Population. Accessed on January 30, 2020
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, General government debt. Accessed on January 30, 2020
The Economist, Guide to Economic Indicators: Making Sense of Economics (7th Edition). Accessed on January 30, 2020
theGlobalEconomy.com, Global debt. Accessed on January 30, 2020
Trading Economics, Economic Indicators by Category. Accessed on January 30, 2020
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018), Household size and composition around the world 2017 data booklet. Accessed on January 30, 2020
Wikipedia, List of countries by median age. Accessed on January 30, 2020
Wikipedia, List of countries by number of households. Accessed on January 30, 2020
Wikipedia, List of countries by population (United Nations). Accessed on January 30, 2020
World Bank, Central government debt, total (% of GDP). Accessed on January 30, 2020